Motivation, Job Design and Performance

Motivation, Job Design and Performance I.APPROACHES TO JOB DESIGN Job desi desi gn is the next step after job analysis that aims at outlining, and organizing tasks and

responsibilities associated with a certain job. It integrates job responsibilities and qualifications or skills that are required to perform the same. There are various methods or approaches to do this. The important ones are discussed below Human Approach

The human approach of job design laid emphasis on designing a job around the people or  employees and not around the organizational processes. In other words it recognizes the need of  designing jobs that are rewarding (financially and otherwise) and interesting at the same time. According to this approach jobs should gratify an individual’s need for recognition, respect, growth and responsibility. Job enrichment as popular ized ized by Herzberg’s research is one the ways in human approach of job design. Herzberg classified these factors into two categories - the hygiene factors and the motivators. Motivators include factors like achievement, work nature, responsibility, learning and growth etc that can motivate an individual to perform better at the work place. Hygiene factor on the other hand include things like working conditions, organizational policies, salary etc that may not motivate directly but the absence of which can lead to dissatisfaction at the work place. Engineering Approach

The engineering approach was devised by FW Taylors et al. They introduced the idea of the task  that gained prominence in due course of time. According to this approach the work or task of  each employee is planned by the management a day in advance. The instructions for the same are sent to each employee describing the tasks to be undertaken in detail. The details include things like what, how and when of the task along with the time deadlines. The approach is based on the application of scientific principles to job design. Work, according to this approach should be scientifically analyzed and fragmented into logical tasks. Due emphasis is then laid on organizing the tasks so that a certain logical sequence is followed for  efficient execution of the same. The approach also lays due emphasis on compensating employees appropriately and training them continuously for work e fficiency. The Job Characteristics Approach

The job characteristics approach was popularized by Hackman and Oldham. According to this approach there is a direct relationship between job satisfaction and rewards. They said that employees will be their productive best and committed when they are rewarded appropriately for  their work. They laid down five core dimensions that can be used to describe any job - skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. 

Skill variety: The employees must be able to utilize all their skills and develop new skills while dealing with a job.

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Task Identity: The extent to which an identifiable task or piece or work is required to  be done for completion of the job. Task Significance: How important is the job to the other people, what impact does it create on their lives? Autonomy: Does the job offer freedom and independence to the individual performing the same. Feedback: Is feedback necessary for improving performance.

These are different approaches but all of them point to more or less the same factors that need to  be taken into consideration like interest, efficiency, productivity, motivation etc. All these are crucial to effective job design.

II.DESIGNING JOBS TO INCREASE MOTIVATION

Job design strategies which improve work motivation: 1. Job Rotation: It is a form of job design practice in which the employees are moved from one job to another. Job rotation helps in reducing job boredom and help in developing a flexible workforce. Job rotation creates multi s killed employees. 2. Job Enlargement: It is about increasing the number of tasks in a job for an employee. It helps in improving work efficiency and flexibility. 3. Job Enrichment: It occurs when the employees are entrusted with additional responsibilities for scheduling, coordinating and planning their own work. 4. Alternative Work Schedule options: Designing work schedule according to the convenience of the employees so that they can balance their work time and personal time. These may be in the form of: 

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Compressed work weeks: This implies reducing the number of working days  by keeping the number of hours of work the same. Shorter workweek: This means reducing the working hours per week, say from 40 hours to 35 hours. Flexitime: Allowing employees with flexible scheduling options wherein they decide their arrival and departure time from their organization. Telecommuting: Allows the employee to perform their jobs through computers which is linked w ith their offices.

III.ALTERNATIVE WORK ARRANGEMENTS For a daily schedule:

1. Provide flexibility in the employee's arrival and departure schedules or extend the time at noon around the lunch hour. 2. Design a compressed work week... Two days for 10 hours and three days for 5 hours. 3. Arrange specified times to work at home and at the office. This may include additional computer costs, but could reduce the space expenses at the office.

4. Provide the flexibility for staff to arrange job sharing with the understanding that the daily contacts and end product are similar to having one employee cover the job. Managers frequently notice that with shared positions the production results increase rather than decrease beyond the expectations for one person doing the job. For occasional time demands:

With the back-up of managers and H. R. encourage staff to arrange with one another for the coverage of jobs for brief periods of time when employees need to be absent to attend:    

medical appointments special events at their children's school occasional meetings at the agency where they volunteer  a daytime course or training event